INCUBATORS AND ACCELERATORS, RANKED BY NUMBER OF MEMBERS
ARIZONA COMPANIES
Top 10 GANGPLANK 260 S. Arizona Ave., Chandler, 85225 // 480-539-6800 // gangplankhq.com EMPLOYEES did not disclose MEMBERS 1,000 PRINCIPAL Jade Meskill, co-founder HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN no designee CO+HOOTS COWORKING 221 E. Indianola Ave., Phoenix, 85012 // 602-688-2825 // cohoots.com EMPLOYEES 3 MEMBERS 250 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Jenny Poon, founder SEED SPOT 2828 N. Central Ave, Suite 700, Phoenix, 85004 // 602-456-9944 // seedspot.org EMPLOYEES 5 MEMBERS 175 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Courtney Klein, CEO and co-founder NACET 2225 N. Gemini Dr., Flagstaff, 86001 // 928-213-9234 // nacet.org EMPLOYEES 12 MEMBERS 40 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Annette Zinky, CEO CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATION 275 N. GateWay Drive, Phoenix, 85034 // 602-286-8950 // ceigateway.com EMPLOYEES 5 MEMBERS 18 PRINCIPAL Jeff Saville, executive director HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Susie Pulido, functioning high-level executive AZ TECHCELERATOR 12425 W. Bell Road, Surprise, 85378 // 623-222-8324 // aztechcelerator.com EMPLOYEES did not disclose MEMBERS 14 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Julie Neal, manager BIOACCEL 2702 N. 3rd St., Suite 3001, Phoenix, 85004 // 602-385-3210 // bioaccel.org EMPLOYEES 6 MEMBERS 13 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN MaryAnn Guerra, CEO IMPACT BUSINESS ACCELERATORS 3728 E. Highland Ave., Phoenix, 85018 // 480-251-9591 // impactbusinessaccelerators.com EMPLOYEES 5 MEMBERS 5 PRINCIPALS Donavon Ostrom, executive director; Anthony Bajoras, managing director HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN no designee MEDICOVENTURES 275 N. Gateway Drive, Suite 14, Phoenix, 85034 // 480-559-8819 // medicoventures.com EMPLOYEES 2 MEMBERS 2 PRINCIPALS Aaron Call, Partner; Kelvin Ning, Partner HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN no designee BIG BOUNCE LLC 170 S. Ash Ave., Tempe, 85281 // 480-861-9209 // bigbounce.com EMPLOYEES 2 MEMBERS 3 PRINCIPALS Bret Giles, managing member; Sandy Catour, managing member HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Sandy Catour, managing member
LAUNCHING NEW STARTUPS Susie Pulido was looking for ways GateWay Community College could better serve the needs of Maricopa County when she came across a grant from the city of Phoenix for a bioscience incubator in 2006. Pulido, who was head of marketing, had only a passing knowledge of what an incubator was and how it worked, but GateWay was adding a bioscience curriculum, so it seemed like a great fit. With partial funding from the grant, Pulido hit the ground running, networking, learning about staffing and programming, and eventually earning her business incubator certification. It took two years to cobble together the $6 million in federal, local and private funding necessary to break ground on the 18,000-square foot Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation, which opened its doors in 2012. Pulido led the charge every step of the way. Her biggest challenge was finding champions for the incubator within the traditional community college system and keeping everyone engaged in the years it took to bring it to life. “We were really pioneering some new, innovative ways,” Pulido says. “We knew we had a great thing, but there were many times when I was a fish swimming upstream.” Today, Pulido administers the CEI as vice president of business development for Maricopa Corporate College, a new entity within the Maricopa Community College District that delivers customized workforce educa-
tion for businesses in the community. “I’m involved on a daily basis with the staff, with the operations, with the strategic direction and providing the support that our great team there needs to continue to grow, and add new programming,” she says. “It’s a significant project to keep it relevant and continuing to serve our community.” Local start-up companies apply to be residential or affiliate clients, which gives them access to one-on-one mentoring, sophisticated equipment and business services that help them grow to the next level. “The day they come in we’re talking to them about the day they graduate from the program and what metrics they need to reach in their company to move them out of the nest,” Pulido explains. At any given time, around 20 clients are soaking up knowledge at lunch-and-learns and participating in networking groups that meet on site. During their tenure, startup clients may create a product prototype using CEI’s 3D printing lab, gather competitive intelligence about their target market in the research lab or get help creating a promotional video. “The clients coming through our doors today are much more sophisticated companies than when we first opened,” Pulido says. “As we establish a greater reputation we are able to draw some top startup companies in the Valley and we have graduated several that are doing wonderful things.”
SUSIE PULIDO VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BY JOYCE HADLEY COPELAND
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